Curtain.



No. 730,442. PATENTBDJUNBQ,190s.

E. H. DUGHEMIN.

CURTAIN.' APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 22,190.2.

kk f -.-9. -i' m i "1 l 25221268566; g i 4 l u UNITED STATESl Patented June 9` 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CURTAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming' partof Letters Patent No. 730,442, dated J' une 9 1903.

Application filed October 22, 1902. Serial No. 128,335. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it muy concern.-

Beit known that I, EDMUND H. DUCHEMIN, of Newark, county of Essex, State of New J ersey, have invented an Improvement-in Curtains, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to curtains specially adapted for use on open street-cars, and has for its object .to provide a curtain with animproved and simplified form of locking device for holding the curtain in whatever position it may be set, locking devices of this general type being ordinarily known as pinch-bars g and my invention also has for its'object to construct said improved locking device or pinch-bar in such a manner that it may be applied to a curtain-such, for instance, as is shown in my application for Letters Patent Serial No. 84,354--said curtain having iiexible holding-strips laid upon the lateral inargins thereof, which are secured thereto at their outerl edges and which are free or unattached at their inner edges and which hook over stationary means-as, for instance,slide Ways, which are provided for slidably engaging them.

Figure l shows in front elevation a curtain,

provided With a locking device or pinch-bar embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the locking device or pinch-bar shown in Fig. l, the parts thereof being in their normal positions in engagement with the upright side Walls of the slideway to thereby lock the curtain. Fig. dis a horizontal sect-ion of a portion of the locking device, taken on the dotted line 3 3, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of a portion of the curtain and its support broken away to show in elevation one end of one of the Wall-engaging bars of the locking device or pinch-bar. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional detail of one of the wall-engaging bars, taken on the dotted line 5 5, Fig. 4. I

Referring to the drawings, o, represents the curtain, which is suspended from an ordinary spring-roller, the journals a of said roller' having their bearings in suitable supports c2, provided for them, and b o represent the upright side walls ot the casing.

The curtain c has iiexible holding-strips o3 laid upon its lateral margins, which are secured thereto at their outer edges and left free or unattached at their inner edges.

a4 represent stationary slideways attached to the casing at each side thereof, each slideway having a hook which hooks over or engages the free or unattached edge of the ilexible holding-strip.

At the lower edge of the curtain each flexible holding-strip a3 is extended, as at d5, and said extension serves as an end support for the locking device or pinch-bar.

The curtain o; has at its lower edge a loop o?, which extends from side to side thereof, the ends of said loop terminating just inside the extension of the flexible holding-strips, and said loop. serves asthe receptacle and support for the locking device or pinch-bar, to be described, and said loop has a front opening al, through'which project the finger'- pieces a8 as, which are employed to operate the two wall-engaging bars of the locking device.

c represents a metallic U-shapcd shell, which is made long enough to extend from side to side of the curtain d, terminating just inside the extensions of the flexible holdingstrips or substantially iiush with the ends of the loop as. the shell c a strip or bar c is secured, which is located about midway the length of the shell, (see Fig. 2,) but which does not extend from end to end thereof, and said strip or bar is attached to the shell by rivets c2 orvotherwise, being Ithereby stationarily supported. A'narrow dat strip c3 is attached to the top of the strip or bar c', which extends from end to end of the U-shaped shell, being thereby held securely-in place and inclosiug the moving parts which are contained within the shell. Two oppositely-slidin g wall-engaging bars d e are contained in the shell c, which are formed ali-ke, or substantially so, and end supports are provided for said sliding wall-engaging hars, which are also formed alike, or subst-antially so. The sliding wall-engaging bar d for a portion of its length is made of suitable width to slide freely in the shell c and for a portion of its length to slide feely in the shell c beneath the strip c', being cutaway for the purpose of thus passing beneath said strip c'. By cutting away the bar d in order that it At the upper part of but withinl may pass freely beneath the strip d a shoulder is formed, against which one end of a spring d' bears, the opposite end of said spring bearing against one end of the stationarilysupported strip or bar c. The action of the spring d is to thrust outwardly the sliding wall-engaging bar d. The bar d projects out of and beyond'the end of the shell c and through a suitable end support connected with the extension of the flexible holdingstrip and is serrated at its end to better engage the wall of the slideway.

As an end support for the sliding wall-engaging bar d a sheet-metal plate f is provided, the outer end of which, as f', is attached to l the extension of the flexible holding-strip,

and said end supporting-plate is made of suitable size and shape to enter the shell c for a short distance, being disposed alongside of the sliding wallengaging bar d, and said end supporting-plate has two lips f2 f2 bent over or disposed to present a dovetailed slideway for the end of the sliding bar d, which latter is properly formed or shaped to enter and slide freely in the end supporting-plate thus provided for it. The end supportingplate being thus attached to the extension of 'the flexible holding-strip and entering the shell c, it will he seen that it is stationarily supported.

By the construction herein shown and described it will be seen that the linger-pieces a8 as project forward instead of downward, and consequently the curtain can be lowered to the bottom of the window-frame, and, further, that the pinch-bar can be applied to a curtain having flexible holding-strips at the sides. l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a curtain having exible holding-strips at the sides, stationary means which hook over and slidably engage said strips, extensions on the lower ends of said strips, end supporting-plates attached to said extensions, and oppositely-sliding wallengaging bars supported at the lower edge of the curtain, which slidably engage said end supporting-plates,si1bstantially as described.

fi.; y 730,442

2. The combination of a curtain having exible holding-strips at the sides, stationary means which hook over and slidably engage said strips, extensions on the lower ends of said'strips, a supporting-frame at the lower edge of the curtain, oppositely-sliding wall engaging bars contained in said frame, and end supporting-plates attached to said extensions,whi,ch enter the supporting-frame alongside of the sliding wall-engaging bars which slidably engage said bars, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a curtain having flexible holdingstrips at the sides, stationary means which hook over and slidably engage said strips and supporting-plates attached to said flexible strips and oppositely sliding wall-engaging bars supported at the lower edge of the curtain which slidably engage said end supporting-plates, substantially as described.

4. A locking device for a curtain consisting of a U-shaped shell connected to the lower edge of the curtain, a strip contained therein and fixed thereto, a pair of oppositely-sliding wall-engaging bars lalso contained in said shell, each having a wall-engaging end portion, a spring acting upon each bar and a nger-piece attached to the inner end of each bar which projects through a hole in the shell, substantially as. described.

5. The combination with acurtain provided at its lower edge'with a loop, a U-shaped shell contained in said loop, a strip contained in said shell and xed thereto, a pair of oppositely-sliding wallengaging bars also coutained in said shell, each formed to provide a wall-engaging end portion, a spring acting upon each bar located between the bar and fixed strip, and a linger-piece attached to the inner end of each bar which projects through a hole in the shell and also through a hole in the loop, substantially as described.

In testimony whereot` I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Y EDMUND H. DUOHEMIN.

Witnesses:

B. J. Novus, MAUD M. PIPER. 

